1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connector assembly comprising a first connector and a second connector matable therewith, the assembly floatably mounted with respect to a device such as a panel to enable adjustment of positional tolerances during coupling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
European Patent 371835, and German Patent DE 3903839, disclose connectors floatably mountable to a panel or support in order to adjust for tolerances in the relative position between connectors to be coupled. In DE 3903839, the connector compensates for angular misalignment in addition to translational misalignment. Adjustment for misalignment is typically required when the connectors are mounted on devices that are assembled together, whereby connector coupling occurs automatically. The devices may be relatively large with respect to the connectors, an example of a potential application being the assembly of automobile body or component parts, such as an automobile chassis to an automobile body or a seat to the bodywork. Assembly of such devices require particularly large absorption of positional tolerances.
In the prior art, it is typical to have a connector with a funnel shaped entry at the mating face for guiding the mating connector. The funnel shaped mating face increases the cross-sectional size of the connector. The larger the required tolerance adjustment, the larger the cross-section. In order to minimise the size of the connector for a given tolerance, it is important to centre the connector on the panel or structure on which it is floatably mounted. In EP 371835 this is achieved by providing elastic foam pads between the connector and panel cutout. Other conventional connectors typically have elastic arms between the connector and panel cutout. A problem with conventional floatable connectors is that the elastic centering means limit floatability of the connector in the direction of coupling and may be damaged after a few mating cycles or otherwise, possible leading to damage of the connector assembly when coupling.
When assembling large devices, mispositioning in the direction of coupling may be quite large. Prior art connector assemblies, such as shown in DE 3903839 do not have the ability to adjust for large tolerances in the mating direction. It would be desirable in certain applications to have large tolerance absorption in the connector mating direction.